Letter from the Dean

September 6, 2011

Welcome to the Fall semester at Chicago Theological Seminary! As the Academic Dean, I would like to call your attention to a number of things that are happening at CTS this semester. If you have questions about any of the announcements below, or other academic matters at CTS, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you are on-campus, feel free to stop by my office in Room 432, immediately across the hall from the Student Services Office.

Ken Stone, Ph.D.
Academic Dean and Professor of Bible, Culture and Hermeneutics 773.322.0239
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New Faces and Departures

One of the most important changes every fall semester is the arrival of new students. By the time you read this newsletter, our entering class will have completed Orientation and be starting their first week of classes. Orientation included the annual retreat, held again this year at Tower Hill Camp, in Michigan; and facilitated by Professors Scott Haldeman and JoAnne Terrell, with assistance from Rev. Ayanna Johnson, Director of Community Life, and several returning students. If you are a new student, please know that we are glad to have all of you with us. We look forward to getting to know you in the weeks ahead, as you have already started getting to know one another.

We also welcome several new staff members, who joined us over the summer. Mr. Kim King joined us in May as Director of Recruitment and Enrollment Management. Kim comes to us from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he was part of the admissions and recruitment team. He previously worked at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana; and at Woodlawn AME Church in Chicago. He earned his B.A. in Religion at Wabash College and his M.Div. at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta. Kim will be overseeing our efforts around Recruitment and Admissions.

In June, Ms. Maria Hetman joined our staff as a Development Associate for External Relations. Maria is a graduate of the New School in New York City and of Central European University in Budapest. She worked for the last two years in Sarajevo with the Center for Justice and Reconciliation, and was a writer for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. She has also worked for AmeriCorps.

In August Dr. Michael Neil joined us as Coordinator of Instructional Technology. Michael comes to us from Northern Theological Seminary, where he served as Director of Instructional Design. He worked previously as a software engineer and trainer for more than 20 years before attending Northern Seminary and earning his master’s degree in Christian Education. He also earned a D.Min. at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, which has developed a successful program in distance education. Among his other duties, Michael serves as Administrator of our Moodle Learning Management System. He will work with faculty members to integrate technology into online, blended/hybrid, and face-­‐to-­‐face courses, assisting with course design and implementation. He will also be helping us plan for, design, and implement our growing distance education program.

Even as we welcome new faces, we also note the departure of several members of our community. Rev. Lin Sanford Keppert, who served for three years as Director of Admissions and Recruitment, left CTS this summer to pursue other ministry opportunities. Ms. Stephanie Ewing, a graduate of our M.A. program and a member of our Admissions and Recruitment staff, also left CTS this summer to pursue a graduate degree in Journalism at Columbia College. Mr. Seong Heon Lee, formerly our Assistant Librarian, has taken a position as Librarian and Director of Educational Technology at Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, Washington. And Ruth Martin, who worked in our Development office as Associate for External Relations, left CTS this summer to pursue a Ph.D. We wish all of these former staff members well in their current endeavors.

Convocations 2011-­12

Our annual Fall Convocation will take place at noon on Wednesday, September 14. Dr. JoAnne Terrell, Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology, will be our speaker. This Convocation service will be the last Convocation service in the Graham Taylor Chapel. Community Lunch will follow at McGiffert House.

Spring Convocation will take place at noon on Wednesday, February 1. Dr. Lee Butler, Professor of Theology and Psychology , will be our speaker. This Convocation service will be the first Convocation service in our new building.

Rooks Lecture

The fifth annual C. Shelby Rooks Lecture will take place on Thursday, October 6. This year’s Rooks Lecture will be given by Dr. Charles H. Long, who will speak on the topic, “The Secret of the Cargo: Understanding African American Religion.” Dr. Long is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has also taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Syracuse University, and the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. After joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, Dr. Long helped to found the journal History of Religions, along with Mircea Eliade and Joseph Kitagawa. Dr. Long has written on a wide range of topics, including creation myths, cargo cults, and African and African American religions. His books include Alpha: The Myths of Creation (1963) and the influential Significations: Signs, Symbols, and Images in the Interpretation of Religion (1986). Dr. Long has served as President of both the American Academy of Religion and the Society for the Study of Black Religion, which he cofounded and where he worked closely with C. Shelby Rooks. The annual Rooks Lecture is dedicated to the life and work of Rev. Dr. Rooks, who became the first African American President of a predominantly white theological school in the United States when he served as CTS President from 1974 to 1984. Please stay tuned for more details about this exciting event, which will begin with a reception at 5:15 p.m. followed by the Rooks event and lecture at 6:30.

New Building Dedication Weekend and Scholarship Concert

Also in October, CTS will dedicate our new, state-of-the-art, accessible, environmentally friendly (LEED-silver certified) building at 60th and Dorchester. Our new location, on the south side of the University of Chicago campus, will border both the Woodlawn and the Hyde Park neighborhoods. As Academic Dean, I am particularly excited about the enhanced opportunities for learning and teaching that will become available to students and faculty once we move into our new building in January, 2012. To celebrate this historic occasion, CTS will dedicate our new home in a multi-­day celebration on October 20-­23. A scholarship concert on Thursday evening, October 20 will feature the internationally renowned Sweet Honey in the Rock. The building dedication ceremony itself will take place on Friday afternoon, October 21 at 2:00 p.m. Other events are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, and to register for the Dedication and purchase tickets for the scholarship concert with Sweet Honey in the Rock, be sure to visit our website.

Online Learning

Earlier this summer, our new, comprehensive distance education program was approved by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), which accredits seminaries and divinity schools in the United States and Canada. This year we will be offering several courses online, including both required courses such as “Interpreting the Hebrew Bible” (formerly People and Faith of Israel I), “History of Christian Thought,” and “UCC History and Polity”; and innovative electives such as “Introduction to Interfaith Engagement,” “Queer Ethics,” and “Eating and Drinking with Jesus.” Over the next three years we will be increasing our online and hybrid offerings significantly, so that M.A., M.A.R.L. and M.Div. students can complete substantial portions of their degree programs online. CTS faculty members are being trained in the latest pedagogies for online and other technologically enhanced learning, which will be supported by the significant technological capabilities of our new building. For more information on our online programs, be sure to visit our online section of the website or contact our Director of Online Learning, Ms. Elena Jimenez, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Master of Arts in Religious Leadership

Also this year, we are happy to welcome our first students in the new Master of Arts in Religious Leadership (M.A.R.L.) program at CTS. This two-­‐year degree in professional ministry, with a required component in Theological Field Education, has four concentrations: Religious Leadership for Interfaith Engagement, Religious Leadership for Social Transformation, Religious Leadership for Spirituality and Pastoral Care, and Religious Leadership for Word and Worship. For more information on the new M.A.R.L. program, please contact our M.A.R.L. Director, Prof. Scott Haldeman, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or visit the degree programs section of our website.

Castaneda Lecture 2012

Looking ahead to the Spring semester, be sure to mark your calendars now for our annual Gilberto Castaneda Lecture. This year’s lecture will be given by Dr. Patrick S. Cheng, Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Cheng’s research interests relate to the intersections of sexuality, race and theology. He is the author of Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology (2011) as well as numerous articles and essays. He is also an ordained M.C.C. minister and a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post. This year’s Castaneda Lecture will take place on Thursday, April 26. Stay tuned for further details.

Fall Picnic

Students, Staff, Faculty and their families are all invited to Fall Fest on Thursday, September 8 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at McGiffert House. Food and drinks are provided. For information contact Rev. Ayanna Johnson, Director of Community Life, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 773.322.0269.

Ongoing

Community Worship takes place each week during the fall and spring semesters in the Graham Taylor Chapel, beginning between 12:00 and 12:10 p.m. Worship is followed immediately by Community Lunch in McGiffert House. Student groups or others who are interested in organizing a worship service should contact Rev. Ayanna Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 773.322.0269. Community Lunch is free for all CTS students. Faculty members, staff, and guests are encouraged to make a modest cash donation at Lunch to underwrite expenses. For other events and announcements, CTS Students, Staff and Faculty may consult Insight, our weekly electronic newsletter; as well as regular announcements from the office of Community Life.